On November 2, 2010, Florida voters passed a constitutional initiative, requiring that redistricting of U.S. House and state legislative seats be done by the legislature in a manner that outlaws partisan advantage to any party. Outgoing Governor Charlie Crist forwarded the text of the measure to the Voting Rights Section of the U.S. Justice Department, because Florida is covered by section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, and can’t change its election laws without approval from the federal government.

However, after incoming Governor Rick Scott took office, he withdrew the filing. On February 3, three several civic organizations and five voters filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, to force Governor Scott to forward the measure to the Justice Department. The case is League of Women Voters, et al v Scott, 4:2011-cv-10006. The case is in the federal court in Key West, because the voter-plaintiffs live there. Thanks to Rick Hasen for news of this lawsuit. Here is the complaint.

Maine Representative Jon Hinck (D-Portland) has introduced LD 153, to shrink the size of each house of the state legislature. The Senate now has 35 members and the proposal would change that to 23, which would give Maine the third-smallest State Senate in the nation (Nevada only has 21 State Senators, and Alaska has only 20). The proposal would lower the number of representatives from 151 to 101.

Maine currently has both an independent State Senator, and an independent Representative. Also, in 2002 and 2004, the Green Party elected a state legislator in Maine. A smaller state legislature would probably make it more difficult for non-major party legislators to be elected. The proposal must receive a two-thirds vote in each house of the legislature to pass. If it did pass the legislature, it would then appear as a proposed Constitutional change on the November 2012 ballot. Bills to shrink the legislature were introduced in 2009, but failed to pass.

On February 3, the California Secretary of State said that Ted Costa’s proposed initiative is now free to begin circulation. It provides that each U.S. House district in California would choose its own presidential elector, similar to the system now used in Nebraska and Maine. The initiative needs 504,760 valid signatures and must be completed by July 5, 2011. Costa is experienced with statewide initiatives and has placed many of them on the ballot in the past. If the initiative gets enough valid signatures, it would probably be voted on at the presidential primary in 2012. It is now impossible to know whether the presidential primary will be in February, March, or June. Current law has it in February but the legislature may change the date.